Golf Club Crans-sur-Sierre (Severiano Ballesteros)

Overview: The Severiano Ballesteros Course at Crans-sur-Sierre is an 18-hole mountain course above Crans-Montana, with the Swiss Alps forming an unusually immediate backdrop. The layout asks for a complete game and precise approaches, while its elevation, tree-lined corridors and changing views create a round that feels different from ordinary resort golf. The club's current information lists par 71 and 6,274 metres, and the course remains the annual home of the Omega European Masters.

History: Golf began at Crans-sur-Sierre in 1905, with nine holes opening in 1906 and the second nine in 1908. After interruptions and a later nine-hole course for hotel guests, the present 18-hole course was inaugurated in 1929 and improved by Harry Nicholson. In 1995 Severiano Ballesteros was commissioned to modernise it for professionals and visiting amateurs; the renovated course was later named in his honour.

Did You Know? The Swiss Open was first played at Crans-sur-Sierre in 1939 and became the European Masters in 1983. That makes the tournament and course unusually connected: the event has remained on the same mountain venue for decades, while the Ballesteros redesign continues to serve both the professional championship and ordinary visiting golfers. The famous seventh is also one of the course's most photographed holes.